Twins’ Josh Willingham rounds the bases after hitting a three-run homerun in the third inning, tying the game at 4-4, as Minnesota played Detroit at Target Field in Minneapolis on Tuesday, August 14, 2012. ( Pioneer Press: Scott Takushi)

TORONTO — The Twins’ biggest offseason move turned out to be their best. Josh Willingham was brought in to replace the offensive firepower formerly supplied by Michael Cuddyer. Willingham did that and more.

Terry Ryan signed Willingham to a three-year, $21 million deal. It turned out to be a good move. Willingham, who sat out the final series in Toronto with a sore shoulder, finished with 35 home runs and 110 RBIs. He hit .260 and had a .366 on-base percentage.

“He’s had a career year,” Ryan said. “We were desperate for a right-handed bat to put between those two lefties (Mauer and Morneau). When it was apparent that Michael (Cuddyer) maybe was not coming back we started to turn our attention to other right-handed bats, and Josh was at the top of the list.

“I think he had a desire to come and play for us, and we had a desire for that type of player. So it’s worked out about as well as you could ever expect.”

During spring training, Willingham was fed a steady diet of tales about the negative long-term effects of playing at Target Field. It was just too difficult to hit home runs there, people noted. But Willingham proved it all wrong. He demonstrated that if you hit the ball hard enough, it will go out of any ballpark. And he hit the ball very, very hard.

“I’ve played in big ballparks. I knew if I pulled the ball, I’d be OK,” he said. “It’s a great place to play, and the fans supported us all year. I didn’t come in with any kind of a numbers goal. I just wanted to be healthy and play every day. I felt like if I could do that I’d put up some good numbers.”

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